ANDI Food Scores: Rating the Nutrient Density of Foods

What is Lipozene?

Lipozene can swell in the throat and cause choking, according to the warning label. I am so excited to hear this Robyn! It is, therefore, vegan-friendly. Acute infectious and parasitical diseases Autoimmune progesterone dermatitis Acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. Your testimony sounds beleivable and reasonable considering losing about 2lbs per week. In concluding his message to the staff, Darragh added: Posterior - anatomical terms of location.

Dr. Fuhrman’s Aggregate Nutrient Density Index (ANDI)

Still, fewer than 10 percent of people with severe opiate-use disorder are seeking treatment, according to Porter. Fortunately, providers like Porter and Glick have induced many people to step out of the shadows.

If you take people and put them through MAT, around 70 percent will emerge having conquered their addiction to illicit opiates. The success rate is around 5 percent for the same people who go the abstinence only route, according to Porter. He knows they are extremely busy. Every last detail gets shuffled back to them. Family doctors are the dairy farmers of the medical world. Used with permission from the Addison County Independ ent newspaper. Amanda Young, the medical director for the new clinic.

The clinic will be Open 7-Days a Week from 9: Patients will be seen on a walk-in basis with no appointments needed. Services will include point of care lab tests and diagnostic tests including radiology exams, as well as common injuries such as sprains, strains and lacerations. According to Kniffin, the support from our community for this project has been overwhelming.

Mike Noble The position replaces the former chief human resources officer function. As chief people officer, Novak will not only provide strategic vision and direction for the human resources efforts of the Network, but also focus on cultural integration of the system, leadership team development, and advancement of our talent management strategy to develop a high-performance, sustainable organization that can meet strategic and operational goals.

Novak has 20 years of experience in human resources. At Biogen, he led the creation of a new global manufacturing function and developed a talent review process for early career talent. He also implemented a new company-wide operating model enabling field affiliate organizations and centralized functions to work together more productively. Prior to joining Biogen in , Novak served at organizations including Honeywell, Citigroup and PepsiCo in leadership roles as an HR business partner, talent acquisition leader and in leadership development.

Although the affiliation became effective in April following a vote at the PMC annual meeting in March, a community launch celebration is planned for May 11 during National Hospital Week.

The event will begin at Fred Kniffin, is encouraging all staff and community friends to attend this event and participate in this historic day. During various community presentations over the past year, Kniffin emphasized that Porter and the UVM Health Network agreed early on that maintaining the current array of clinical services that Porter now offers is essential, as well as a mutual desire to bring more specialized medical care to the community and allow Porter to work collaboratively to secure closer clinical integration with the academic medical center.

In addition to the formal ceremony in the morning, there will be a cook-out, live music and other festivities occurring on campus for both employees and community friends. For more information, members of the community may call Porter officials said the new clinic will provide quick health care options for patients who might otherwise go to the emergency room.

Porter spokesman Ron Hallman cited earaches, strep throat, lacerations, urinary tract infections, concussions and sports injuries as among the ailments that will appropriately be dealt with at Porter Express Care. Fred Kniffin said the new clinic will give Addison County residents a new — and less expensive — care option that is quite common among other hospitals. With a tentative June opening, Express Care will be open seven days per week — 9 a.

Construction of the new facility began this month. It will include five exam rooms and a separate entrance into the Collins Building. From the Addison Independent. The affiliation will become effective in April, and the formal community launch is planned for May 11 during National Hospital Week.

Fred Kniffin, applauded this vote and enthusiastically supports this decision. During the affiliation negotiations and at various community presentations, Kniffin emphasized that Porter and the UVM Health Network agreed early on that maintaining the current array of clinical services that Porter now offers is essential, as well as a mutual desire to bring more specialized medical care to the community and allow Porter to work collaboratively to secure closer clinical integration with the academic medical center.

During the past year, he has specifically pointed to bringing a common electronic medical record system, enhanced access to clinical, quality and financial expertise and construction of a new medical office building as specific and vitally important elements of this affiliation. According to Kniffin, more detailed information about the planned formal community launch on May 11 will be distributed to the community shortly.

It is the only hospital facility in the United States dedicated solely to training hospital and healthcare professionals in disaster preparedness and response. According to PMC spokesperson, Ron Hallman, more than half of Vermont hospitals are sending representatives to this federally-funded training program, including clinical, support and administrative staff. At the beginning of the five day course, employees will select one of two courses based on their skill sets: Incident Commanders, Emergency Department nurses, logistics chiefs, decontamination team members and as a public information officer.

Our Porter team will have a change to work closely throughout the week with staff members from other Vermont hospitals as well as the experts at CDP," Hallman said. The Vermont representatives will finish their respective classes on Thursday of next week. The ICE combines multiple courses in a final culminating exercise that promotes an interdisciplinary response to a simulated mass casualty incident. During the ICE, the students will be challenged with realistic scenarios in which role players, human patient simulators and mannequins portrayed survivors of a mass casualty incident.

The exercise will be carried out in various training venues including the CDP's indoor street scene, subway and at the Noble Training Facility. A former student from New Hampshire who took this course last year summarized her experience this way: Very rarely can we bring someone in, decontaminate them, triage them and do the whole gamut. We can't train like that at our local medical center.

Training at the CDP is a great team-building experience. I think everyone should avail themselves of the opportunity. The Porter representatives plan to provide daily updates on their training activities all next week, including photos, to be posted on the Porter intranet page.

Although not a binding contract, the Letter of Intent clearly sets in motion a more formal process of negotiations that is expected to last approximately six months, during which time Porter and the UVM Health Network will endeavor to agree upon the specific terms that would lead to Porter becoming an affiliate of the UVM Health Network as early as the spring of During the negotiation process, Porter will retain the option of choosing independence.

Porter has strong community ties and we are both focused on keeping care as close to home for patients and their families as possible.

Being part of the network creates opportunities in this challenging era of health care reform for collaboration and finding ways to become more efficient and effective in delivering high-quality care. Kniffin points to the possibility of bringing a common EMR system, enhanced access to clinical, quality and financial expertise and a new medical office building to Porter as specific elements of this partnership.

Fred Kniffin, who has personally signed more than 1, letters that will be mailed next week to current PMC donors, but he emphasized that this is a community-wide effort. For more information contact Porter at or at www. The UVM Health Network was selected from among four institutions that responded to their affiliation request for proposals.

He noted that determining the future of Porter Medical Center had entered a new phase; the continued evaluation of independence vs. For well over a year, the Porter Medical Center Board of Directors has been engaged in a comprehensive and extensive strategic planning process to chart the future course for Porter as either an independent health care organization or as an affiliated partner with another medical system. The process has included significant research, deliberations, community conversations and multiple forums with providers and employees.

That is now the only affiliation option that we are considering, should we decide to make that choice. Throughout this evaluation period, Porter has hosted a dozen informational forums with staff, providers and the general community to engage them in this conversation and solicit their thoughts, ideas and concerns about both options.

The goal according to Kniffin is to create a shared vision of the best path forward to ensure that the people within the PMC service area continue to receive access to high quality, comprehensive and patient-focused health care, as well as position Porter for health care reform and the coming significant changes in Vermont's health care delivery system.

Another series of informational forums is now underway, including a planned community-wide forum on August 24th at 7: At that meeting, more specific details will be shared on both the quality and financial considerations being vetted by the PMC board, which anticipates making a final decision this fall. Middlebury--The federal government released its first overall hospital quality rating last week, similar to the long-standing 5-Star CMS rating used for nursing homes.

The number of stars each hospital receives depends on how well the hospital performed on these 64 which include death rates, readmissions, safety indicators and patient satisfaction scores. According to CMS, the goal of this rating system is to offer consumers a simpler measure of hospital quality than the full listing of more than separate measures reported by the government.

The remaining Vermont hospitals earned either a two or three star rating, or were not rated. Just hospitals nation-wide received the top rating of five stars, and few are those considered as the nation's best by private ratings sources such as U.

The Porter Medical Center Board of Directors is pleased to welcome four new members who will join the board this summer, two of whom fill vacant board positions prescribed by the PMC Bylaws. She will also be working part-time in the office of her husband, Dr. Brian Collins, who is opening a new pediatric dental practice in Middlebury. Mullins is the Director of Human Resources at the College and leads the Human Resources staff in serving the employees of Middlebury College to ensure an environment of collaboration and partnership among all members of the Middlebury community.

She also is responsible for policy development, strategic planning, legal compliance, staffing management, HR forecasting and program development for the Middlebury College, the Middlebury Institute of International Studies and related schools and programs. Two additional members have been appointed to their roles by the current PMC Board to fill vacancies until formal elections are held at the next Porter annual meeting next spring. In addition to representing two of the largest health and human service agencies in Addison County, both Thorn and Greifzu have extensive experience in health care leadership and strategic planning and Greifzu is a registered nurse.

All potential candidates are initially vetted by the PMC Governance Committee and then approached individually to gauge their interest. Community discussions, advisory committees and an online questionnaire designed to receive public feedback.

According to PMC spokesperson Ron Hallman, Porter is strongly encouraging members of the community to be a part of the forward-looking strategic planning process now underway to ensure the community continues to have access to high quality health care services for years to come.

As part of this exploration, Porter has organized a Physicians Advisory Committee and a Community Advisory Committee to help hospital leaders evaluate options and analyze public feedback. As part of the community engagement process, Porter is hosting three summer forums as well as offering an online questionnaire for those who cannot attend or wish to have their feedback remain anonymous.

According to Hallman, Porter is considering all options including maintaining its existing independent structure, as well as affiliation with another larger organization.

Vergennes - Bixby Library July 20, 4: Bristol - Holley Hall July 26, 4: Presentation from the Forums For those who wish to take the online confidential survey, please visit: For more information about Porter Medical Center, visit: The PMC Auxiliary Board, chaired by Jan Bark, is a group of area men and women who raise funds via special events and Round Robin Upscale Resale Shop in order to provide financial support to Porter for equipment, renovations or community programs.

The Cancer Patient Support Foundation of Vermont has awarded a grant to Porter Hospital to support nutritional counseling for cancer patients.

On this web site, CMS explains the rating system and why it is important for consumers to understand and monitor. The information collected includes the residents' health, physical functioning, mental status, general well-being and quality of care information like whether residents have gotten their flu shots, are in pain, or are losing weight.

In terms of staffing, federal law requires all nursing homes to provide enough staff to adequately care for residents. However, there's no current federal standard for the best nursing home staffing levels according to the CMS site. Certain states may have additional staffing requirements. LNAs provide care to nursing home residents 24 hours per day, 7 days a week.

Helen Porter Administrator, Jim Darragh, shared this news with the entire Porter Medical Center community earlier this week in an email. I am proud to work with such caring and compassionate people who are truly dedicated to this important segment of healthcare and the elderly population we serve.

According to Darragh, ratings such as this are important, but he emphasized that it also is important for people to come and visit any long-term care facility, meet the staff and view the physical features of the nursing home before making a final decision. In concluding his message to the staff, Darragh added: Please except my most sincere appreciation and thanks for all that you do to make this a quality place to live and a true community asset that contributes significantly to the PMC mission: Fred Kniffin sent a letter this week to the patients of Porter Internal Medicine formally announcing the plans for closing this practice.

Naomi Hodde and Dr. Cynthia Smith will be leaving our practice to pursue professional opportunities outside of our community in the next few months. Smith will be leaving at the end of this month and Dr.

The letter goes on to say that: Hodde will be available to see patients at our Primary Care - Bristol practice. Kniffin shares in the letter that his leadership team and area providers have been working hard behind the scenes to identify the best option for the remaining PIM physician, Dr.

Brad Armstrong, and his patients. Brad Armstrong and I have determined that we will be relocating his medical practice to our Primary Care - Brandon practice in Brandon as of May 2nd.

Although we explored every possible option for allowing Dr. Losing your provider, or having your provider relocate to another practice, are extremely difficult situations for any patient.

According to the letter, any current patient of the practice will be automatically transferred to Dr. Armstrong at Neshobe if they wish to follow him there. Armstrong to his new practice location at Neshobe, you do not have to do anything.

Enclosed with the letter is a list of Porter practices that are currently accepting new patients in case individuals wish to transfer their care by reaching out to one of these practices directly. But it also offers additional assistance to patients if they need help. Porter and Primary Care Dr. Since then, I have received numerous calls and letters from community members who are deeply concerned by the closing of this practice and about the future of adult primary care access in Addison County.

I appreciated that feedback, and I would like to take this opportunity to address those concerns. First, please know that I appreciate the unique nature of the physician-patient relationship. If your physician is leaving our community, I understand how difficult that is.

We are fortunate in this community to have great healthcare providers. Access to high quality primary care is essential to us all. When I started at Porter in , we had four internal medicine physicians: Dave Henderson and Dr. They were core members of our medical staff. I admired their commitment to their patients.

I respected their skills and wisdom. They were colleagues and mentors for me as a young physician. I was around when this first group of internists retired, and I know how hard those retirements can be when a generation of our community has such a deep connection with these doctors. What I also learned is how difficult it can be to recruit high quality primary care internal medicine physicians.

One year ago, we had eight providers in our community practicing internal medicine. Today we have six, soon to be four. For those upset by the departure of these valuable providers, I fully understand and acknowledge your anger. We are a diminished community for this loss.

I believe in Internal Medicine. I am an Internist by training. I believe a healthy department of Internal Medicine is essential for our hospital and for the health of our community. But there is no easy or short-term fix. Recruiting new, highly skilled physicians to locate and practice here will take time. As the new leader of Porter Medical Center, I plan to work with my board, medical staff and administrative colleagues to take a comprehensive look at where we are and develop a solid plan for addressing the primary care needs of our community.

It will be hard work, but it is urgent and necessary work, and we will do it together. In summary, I understand how unsettling these changes have been for our community. Our network of physicians, both primary and specialty care, is one of the great assets of our community. Please know I recognize the value of our provider network, and that I will be working hard in the weeks and months ahead to address this extraordinarily important issue. The Meeting Agenda is now available here.

Also the proposed changes to the Bylaws are also available here. The future of Porter Medical Center has never been brighter. That is a very broad, potentially provocative, statement - especially in light of all of the recent changes, challenges, and difficult decisions our community has been hearing about. Nevertheless, it is a statement that is embraced by the Porter Medical Center Board of Directors, and one which we believe truly characterizes our board's belief and commitment to the future of the organization.

However, ongoing transformation is what is needed, what is essential, if we are to continue to serve our community with the highest quality healthcare services possible for the present and future generations.

We recognize there is a human element to this transformation. Porter deeply values all of its employees and has encouraged those affected to apply for open positions within our campus for continued employment.

Here is my favorite quote from that article:. How can visionary healthcare leaders transform their successful systems today so they can be successful tomorrow, too? The current financial challenges, now being addressed by Porter, have been shared openly with the community in several local newspaper articles, on Middlebury Community Television, in community commentaries and Letters to the Editor.

What is equally important to share with the community is that our Board of Directors has a deliberated, comprehensive process in place to address the current short-term challenges, while developing a long-range strategic plan that will sustain and support the Mission and essential services provided by Porter Medical Center.

We are governing through challenging times, but with a clear vision for our future: Those may just sound like admirable words — but with our Mission and our Values guiding us as we move forward with each difficult and complex decision, we are dedicated to providing high-quality patient-centered health care for our community, while stewarding the resources entrusted to us. Thank you for your patience as we navigate this essential and complex path of transformation.

We will continue communicating often with our community as we carry on with this important journey. Patients will continue to call the telephone number of any Porter practice the current phone number and their call will automatically be routed to the Access Center. Staff members will have access to templates and protocols, which are being developed now, for each individual Porter provider using their input.

Patients will be scheduled or referred for appointments in a very timely and customer-focused process. Gary Augustus Brodowski, a 9-pound, 3-ounce baby boy, arrived at The family lives in Rutland and also has a 2-year old daughter. Thanks to a recent grant from the Susan G. Komen foundation and in concert with the Ladies First program and the Open Door Clinic, Porter has secured additional resources to offer even more free mammograms to women during the month of January.

Steve Koller, a Radiologist at Porter Hospital. Porter recently introduced a new 3D mammography unit which is the latest state of the art technology available. For more information about this program, contact the Porter Hospital Radiology Department at The new Infusion Center will open on November 30 and will be located in the Porter Medical Center Collins building, and is currently being outfitted with new treatment chairs and non-clinical features that will allow patients to listen to music, watch television and visit with family, all while receiving their infusion treatment.

Wulfman will replace Dr. I am now ready, both personally and professionally, to return to caring for patients. Lynn is an extremely competent CEO and exceptional leader. Kniffin for both his many past contributions to Porter and for playing a central role in her transition. I am very pleased to know that Dr. Boggs also praised Dr. Wulfman for agreeing to step forward into this position on a part-time basis while she continues to serve the patients of Brandon and surrounding communities as a practicing physician two days each week.

In announcing their decisions regarding hospital budgets for Fiscal Year , the Green Mountain Care Board approved the Porter Hospital budget as submitted with no changes. In written guidance issued in March and reiterated this spring, the GMCB instructed hospitals to hold their FY16 net patient revenue increase to no more than 3 percent plus an allowance of up to an additional 0.

Net patient revenue includes payments hospitals receive from patients, government, and insurers to pay for patient care — but not revenues from other activities such as cafeterias, parking, and philanthropy. The GMCB approved rates ranging from These three experienced and talented leaders will work closely together to advance excellence and efficiency in the delivery of meals for our patients, our residents, our staff and our visitors at both the hospital and HPHRC.

George Schreck comes to Porter with more than 20 years of experience as a nutrition services manager, private chef and restaurant owner.

Most recently, he served as the Executive Chef and Dining Services Director at The Lodge at Otter Creek in Middlebury, where he oversaw all meal services for a person community and supervised a staff of 25 employees. She will now be a leader for both the hospital and the nursing home working closely with George and Jamie Bryant who will be a lead cook at Helen Porter.

The third new PMC nutrition services department position is a Supervisor position to oversee the day to day work of the cooks and line staffs at both the hospital and HPHRC. Will Endres has been appointed to this new role. He brings 20 years of cooking experience to this position, including 16 with Porter. He has had the vision to keep Porter vibrant, relevant and forward thinking. Porter Introduces new 3D Mammography Details Porter hospital now offers The C. E channel for patients and family.

It is a soothing addition to the TV channels currently offered. This annual meeting of hospital providers of maternity care focuses on ways to continuously identify and implement improvement strategies for caring for women and infants at Vermont hospitals, including the review of key statistics of birthing centers throughout Vermont as compared to established quality standards.

Food labels are to list the most important nutrients in an easy-to-follow format. Criteria are simple—low in saturated fat and cholesterol, for healthy people over age 2. And a certification payment to AHA by the food manufacturer. After repeated debilitation and stakeholder pressures, the law finally went into effect only 7 years later, on March 16, , and even then with many loopholes.

Announcement made that FDA will require food labels to include trans-fat content. Labeling went into effect in The FDA announced plans to permit the manufacturers of food products sold in the United States to make health claims that are supported by less than conclusive evidence. Opponents criticize it as opening the door to ill-founded claims. Advocates believe it will make more information available to the public.

The following year Kraft launches a similar initiative, called Sensible Solutions. Hannaford Supermarkets launches Guiding Stars, intended to help customers choose healthy foods. Foods are ranked 0 to 3 stars, with three stars awarded to most nutritious foods. Front-of-package information includes daily percentage values for 6 nutrients.

NuVal announced—the nutritional value NuVal system scores food on a scale of 1 to The higher the NuVal Score, the higher the nutrition of a food product.

Smart Choices launches formally with several hundred products labeled with the green checkmark. Froot Loops becomes the poster child for everything wrong with an industry-backed nutrition rating system. A week later the Smart Choices program suspends itself.